USA > Vermont > Bennington County > Bennington > Memorials of a century. Embracing a record of individuals and events, chiefly in the early history of Bennington, Vt., and its First church > Part 20
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DEA. NATHANIEL HARMON was here at an early day. By the records of the town it appears he purchased a farm here in 1765. An anecdote, illustrative of his promptness and earnestness (related to me by Dewey Hubbell), identifies him personally with the Bennington battle. It was a rude transaction, but the time was urgent. It was better that the dead bodies of the slain foe should be buried in any manner than left to breed pestilence upon the surface of the earth. There were two large excavations for wintering potatoes - left open in the summer time until another har- vest - near by ; Mr. Harmon took his rope slip-noose halter from his horse's neck, and dragged the dead bodies of the slain enemy therewith into the excavations and covered them with earth. There were some sixty bodies thus buried in each of the two excavations. They were near where the Barnet house now stands ; parts of the action of that eventful day were fought there.
Mr. Hubbell related another anecdote. Umbrellas were first brought for sale into the town in his day. Dea. Harmon, being asked to purchase one, declined, saying that a little of the Almighty's rain would not hurt him.
Dr. E. D. Harmon, of Chicago, furnishes the following reminiscence of him : " I recollect his acts of kindness to myself and other children when on our way to the school-
1 Dr. E. D. Harmon, of Chicago.
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house at Irish Corners. If he was present when we passed by his apple-orchard or fruit-yard we were sure to receive a bestowal of his bounty in some choice fruit."
He was possessed of ardent and active piety. He devoted himself for some years to visiting from house to house, as a modern colporteur, selling and giving away small printed collections of religious verses and other matter, designed to promote concern and diligence in religion. A portion of a collection of verses, of which he himself was the author, has been preserved. It is 32mo size, and bears the fol- lowing title : "Poetical Sketches on various Solemn Subjects ; composed by Dea. Nathaniel Harmon, late of Bennington, of pious memory ; written a short time before his death. Bennington : printed by Anthony Haswell, 1796." The first three stanzas of one of the hymns in this collection is here subjoined, on the necessity of works being joined to faith :
" Faith without works is always dead; It occupies a room alone ; Much like the knowledge in the head, Where grace of heart was never sown.
" Works without faith can never save ; But faith and works must strictly join ;
Though faith be strong and works be brave, Yet faith and works we must combine.
" Faith without works is never true ; Works without faith is poor enough ; They part the hoof, but do not chew, Or chew the cud, and part no hoof."
Of the Dr. Harmon, whose letter is quoted from in the above sketch, the following obituary notice is taken from the " Bennington Banner," Jan. 13, 1869 : -
" DECEASE OF A NATIVE OF BENNINGTON. - Dr. Elijah D.
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GEN. EBENEZER WALBRIDGE.
Harmon died at Chicago on the 3d inst. He was born in this town on the 20th August, 1782, and was, consequently, in his eighty-seventh year at the time of his demise. At the age of twenty-four, in 1806, he went to Burlington, and engaged in the practice of medicine, and he was an assist- ant surgeon in McDonough's fleet at the battle of Platts- burg. Dr. Harmon made his first trip from Vermont to Illinois in 1828, but he first went to Chicago to settle, as surgeon to the garrison at Fort Dearborn, in the year 1830, and he was for quite a while the only physician in Chicago. Dr. Harmon was already advanced in years when Chicago began its career of rapid growth, and he has spent his days in the midst of the bustling activity of the young and vigorous city, in comparative retirement, and like one belonging to a by-gone generation."
V. GENERAL EBENEZER WALBRIDGE came to Benning- ton in 1765. He was an officer in Col. Warner's regiment of Green Mountain Boys in the winter campaign of 1776, in Canada, and on the 3d of March, of that year, he was before Quebec, a lieutenant in Capt. Gideon Brownson's company, and adjutant of the regiment. He also served as adjutant in Bennington battle, where his brother, Henry Walbridge, was killed. In 1778 he was lieutenant-colonel in the militia, and, in 1780, succeeded Col. Herrick in the command of the Bennington regiment, and afterward be- came brigadier-general. He was in active service on the frontiers at several periods during the war, and in Dec., 1781, when troops were called out, by both New York and Vermont, to sustain their respective claims to jurisdiction over the "Western Union," as it was called, Col. Wal- bridge commanded those of this State. But for the de- cided superiority of the Vermont force, and a disposition to forbearance on the part of the Vermont authorities, it
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seems probable an actual military collision would have oc- curred. The matter was, however, compromised for the time being, through the mediation of Gen. Stark, who was then in command at Saratoga, and the troops on both sides were withdrawn. The correspondence of Col. Walbridge with the New York authorities, which is creditable to his intelligence and decision of character, as well as forbear- ance, is preserved among the papers of Gov. Clinton, in the State library, at Albany.
Gen. Walbridge also served the State faithfully and well in civil life. He was a representative of the town in the General Assembly, in 1778 and 1780, and a member of the State Council for eight years, - 1786-1795.1
His remains were interred in the old burying-ground, and a memorial slab, at the head of the grave, has upon it this inscription : -
"In memory of Gen. Ebenezer Walbridge, who departed this life Oct. the 3d, 1819, in the eighty-second year of his age.
" He was an affectionate husband, and indulgent father, and a friend to all mankind. He died in the full belief of a glorious resurrection in and through the atonement of Jesus Christ our Lord."
The Walbridge genealogy is traced back to Suffolk county, England. Miss Charlotte Walbridge, of Albany, has a copy of the coat of arms of the Suffolk Walbridges, on which are certain armorial bearings to show that " Sir William de Walbridge accompanied king Richard Cœur de Lion to the holy land, in the 4th crusade, and there greatly distinguished himself." He was " under one of the con- federated ducal sovereigns of France."
Gen. Ebenezer Walbridge, born in Norwich, Conn., Dec. 20, 1738 ; Elizabeth Stebbins, his wife, born in Northfield,
1 Vermont Hist. Mag.
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THE WALBRIDGES.
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Mass., Oct. 1736. One of his sons, Stebbins, married Betsey Denio, of Bennington. Their children : Sophia, married John L. Winne ; Betsey, married Uel Hicks ; Steb- bins D., married Harriet Hicks (second wife, Eliza Ann Skinner, April 18, 1835) ; George, married Mary Ann Olin ; Charlotte ; Fanny, married Joseph N. Hinsdill ; Ebenezer ; Ebenezer 2d, married Mary Ann Hicks ; Bet- sey W., married Chauncey Hopkins. Henry, the first child of Gen. Ebenezer Walbridge, had, among other children, a son, Henry, whose daughter, Mary, married Washington Hunt, one of the governors of New York. Hiram Wal- bridge, of New York city, is also his son.
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CHAPTER XIX.
PERSONAL NOTICES.
1766-1769.
LNATHAN HUBBELL. - On a petition of the settlers to the king, dated Nov., 1766, among other names is that of Elnathan Hubbell. He was also one of the ten rescuers of Remember Baker, captured, and attempted to be carried of, by Munro and his party in the interest of the New York land claimants.1
On his tombstone, in the burying-ground, is the follow- ing inscription : -
" The body of Elnathan Hubbell
" Beside this monumental stone Consigned is, dust to dust. Reader, perhaps a single hour Shall make this fate thine own."
"He departed this life July the 21st, A. D. 1788, aged seventy-one years. He was converted in the sixty-ninth year of his age.
" Reader, accept the solemn call, Instruction from the tomb receive ; Behold the certain fate of all, And seal your pardon while you live."
1 Hall's Early History Vermont, p. 137.
279
DEA. AARON HUBBELL.
The record of the date of his uniting with the church has not been preserved ; probably it took place in one or two years after the revival under Messrs. Wood and Burton. The names of Aaron, a son, and of Bildad, another son (father of James Hubbell, Esq.), are on the records as uniting with this church about the time of that revival, and two years previous to the father's conversion.
JAMES HUBBELL, EsQ., was born in Bennington, Oct. 17, 1775 ; was admitted to the bar in Dec., 1806. He resided in New York for a considerable period, and held the office of magistrate under DeWitt Clinton, which gave him ac- tive and responsible employment. He afterward returned to Bennington, and died here April 24, 1840.1 He was the father of Mrs. Henry Kellogg.
AARON HUBBELL, son of Elnathan Hubbell, was born in Old Stratford, Conn., Sept. 14, 1757. He was converted and united with the church as above. His wife, Sarah, united with the church when he did.
He was twenty years of age at the time of the Benning- ton battle, and a member of Captain Samuel Robinson's company of militia. He afterward became lieutenant of the company. After the first successful engagement of the battle, - that at Baum's redoubt, - he was placed as one of the guards sent over the prisoners captured in that ac- tion, as they were marched to the Bennington meeting- house. In a manuscript statement, in possession of Gov. Hall, Mr. Hubbell states that tliose prisoners numbered over six hundred.
He possessed great unaffectedness and simplicity of char- acter. An incident related of him to this effect may be mentioned. He had a very large woodpile in a place deemed
1 Vermont Hist. Mag., p. 166.
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too prominent by some members of the family, and they remonstrated with him, saying, "What will passers-by think of it?" His reply was, " Any man of sense, I am sure, would like to see a large woodpile; and as for those who haven't sense I care not what they think concerning it."
He was more careful than some others not to speak against his neighbors and fellow-citizens. If aught was said ill of others in his presence, he was accustomed to say, " Well, we may be left to do the same or worse." He held for years the office of justice of the peace, which was in those days an honored office, and bore the appellation Esquire Hubbell. He was greatly respected for his integrity and good judgment.
He was seventy-seven years of age when appointed deacon, December 15, 1834. The church was divided upon two candidates, and there was much spirit on both sides, and evil consequences threatened. To avoid the perpetua- tion of strife in the church, both parties turned to Esquire Hubbell. He was nominated and elected without opposi- tion. He arose and said, " I would not accept this respon- sible position, but I see in what condition the church is ; there are rival candidates, and there may be difficulty ; to preserve the church from this, I accept the office." There was intense feeling of relief, and many were in tears.
His first wife was Sarah, daughter of Captain Elijah Dewey and Eunice Brush, and grand-daughter on her father's side of the Rev. Mr. Dewey. She was married to him at the age of seventeen by the "Rev. David Avery, V. D. M.," June 27, 1782.
Their first child, Sarah, born June 20, 1783 ; united with the church, May 4, 1817 ; died August, 1844, was the wife of Hon. Stephen Robinson.
Their second child, Betsey, born February 24, 1785 ;
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FAMILY OF DEA. A. HUBBELL.
united with the church, September 4, 1831 ; died, September 6, 1845 ; married Daniel McEowen, and, after his decease, Harman.
Their third child, Laura, born March 18, 1787, married John Vanderspiegel, August 6, 1815; united with the church, May 2, 1863 ; died August 15, 1864, aged 77, deeply lamented by children and grandchildren, and much esteemed, by all her acquaintances and many friends, for her amiableness, sprightly conversation, and kindness of heart.
Their first son, and fourth child, was Elijah Dewey Hub- bell; born May 8, 1790; married to Laura, daughter of Hon. Truman Squier; died February 3, 1864; of an amiable and social disposition and of unblemished integrity. He was honored for many years with the office of first selectman in the town, and with other important public trusts.
He possessed a remarkably well-stored memory of dates, as well as facts and particulars of the early history of this town, and has been much consulted in such matters; he had preserved many papers and documents of interest re- specting the early history of this town.
He inherited a valuable farm from his grandfather, Cap- tain Elijah Dewey, for whom he was named, and the family have in their possession a full-length portrait of Captain Dewey, said to be an excellent likeness. His daughter, Georgianna, married the Rev. Martin T. Sumner, a Baptist clergyman.
The fifth child of Deacon Aaron Hubbell, Maria, born October 27, 1792 ; married to Isaac T. Robinson ; united with the church, March 4, 1827, - ministry of the Rev. Daniel A. Clark, - died November 19, 1860. Sound in the faith, clear in her understanding of Christian truth, patient, cheerful, forgiving, faithful, she was a model woman in all
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the relations of life, and eminently so as a member of the church of God. Of her two children, one became a deacon of this church, and the other, Daniel Robinson, is a member and trustee of the Second Street Presbyterian Church, in Troy, New York.
Deacon Hubbell married for his second wife LUCINDA MOODY. She was born in Woodbury, Conn., Jan. 15, 1770. She came here from Farmington, Conn., in 1797. She re- tained vivid recollections of seeing Gen. Washington when, as commander-in-chief of the American forces, he, on one occasion, passed through Farmington. She was married March 11, 1798. She was hopefully converted in the revi- val in 1803, and united with this church at that time.
She deceased in the home of her daughter Catherine, and son-in-law Richard Smith, Esq., in Sharon, Conn., Oct. 3, 1864. She was at the time of her death in the ninety-fifth year of her age. She had bright eyes, a noble physique, and remarkable health and spirits, up to the last plying her knit- ting-needles, and keeping her information abreast of the times, particularly as to the affairs of the town, and to a great extent of the country at large.
Ever hospitable to all who came under her roof, she kept a bed exclusively for wayfarers who called for a night's lodging, however abject they might be, and personally at- tended to its being kept in order. She lived to see a large circle of descendants, and many great-grandchildren, all of whom remember with affection and gratitude her effi- cient care to promote their happiness.
Her first child, Harriet, Mrs. Daniel Conkling, perished in the wreck of the " Swallow," on the Hudson River, April 7, 1845. Affectionate and beautiful tributes to her supe- rior worth appeared in the "New York Observer" and " Bennington Banner " of that day. She was, at the time of her decease, a member of the Presbyterian Church in Albany, N. Y.
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D. H CONKLING.
D. HUBBELL CONKLING, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Conkling, died in Paris, Feb. 17, 1868. He possessed a noble and generous nature, and great executive ability. He had amassed wealth as a member of the firm of H. B. Claflin & Co., New York city, and gave with a liberal hand to many a worthy cause. He had returned to Bennington to reside, where, as a public-spirited citizen, he was becom- ing more and more widely loved and valued.
The intelligence of his death produced a profound sensa- tion of surprise and sorrow. He had united with the First church. .
Another daughter of Dea. Hubbell and Lucinda, his wife, Caroline, united with this church May 6, 1827, married the Rev. Hollis Read. They went as missionaries to India, and returned after some years to this country on account of her health. A son of theirs, Edward Read, is a minister of the gospel.
The above-named Elijah Dewey expressed in his last years a hope of salvation in Christ alone, but did not con- nect himself with the church ; all the other children of Dea. Hubbell became, or have become, members of some church.
II. JOSEPH ROBINSON settled at Irish Corners in 1766. Of eight children, Dr. Ebenezer Robinson, born 1783, still living and resident in the same place, is the only survivor.
PETER ROBINSON, grandfather to the above Joseph Robin- son, settled in Martha's Vineyard, Mass. ; his son Joseph moved thence to Windham, Conn., where Joseph, the early settler in Bennington, was born.
The name Joseph Robinson is on the roll of Capt. Elijah Dewey's company, in Col. Moses Robinson's regiment of militia in the service of the United States, at Mount Inde- pendence, in 1776.
The ancestors of Mary Lucas, wife of Joseph Robinson,
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MEMORIALS OF A CENTURY.
were emigrants from Coleraine in Ireland, and were of Scotch descent. They settled in Coleraine, Mass., and saw the troubles of the French war. She when a child lived seven years in a fort.
III. ROBERT COCHRAN, Robert, Jr., and Mary Cochran united with this church in 1767. Robert Cochran owned the farm subsequently in possession of P. M. Henry ; he sold it and removed westward, soon after the Revolutionary War. He is not the Robert Cochran famous in connection with the New York controversy.
IV. DAVID HAYNES settled here at an early day, 1768, on the farm now the residence of Dea. John Vail. He died 1776, and Ruth Paige, his wife, died 1796. Lydia, their daughter, was the wife of Hopestill Armstrong. Miriam, another daughter, married Dea. Hezekiah Armstrong. Abi- gail, another daughter, married Jonathan Armstrong. (He was one of the two persons who captured the wounded Col. Pfister, - a " volunteer from the vicinity of Bennington, and into whose hands there fell, as the spoils of war, a portion of his baggage, among which was found his commission, on parchment, as 'Lieutenant in His Majesty's sixteenth, or Royal Regiment of Foot,' dated Sept. 18, 1760, and signed by Sir Jeffrey Amherst ; a set of draughting instruments, and a map of the route from St. John's, through Lakes Champlain and George, and along the Hudson, to New York. These relics are in the possession of th Hon. L. B. Armstrong, of Dorset, a grandson of the soldier into whose hands they fell on the battle-field.") 1 Aaron, a son of the above David Haynes, was a Baptist preache., married Molly, sister of Jonathan Armstrong.
David Haynes, Jr., was son of the above. Of his cl
1 Vermont Hist. Mag.
285
COLVIN - FILLMORE.
dren, the only one living and remaining in town is Mrs. Temmy, widow of the late Alvah Rice, and mother of Ed- ward Rice.
V. REUBEN COLVIN was an early settler in Bennington, his name being found on a petition to the Governor of New Hampshire in 1769. He was in Bennington battle, as ap- pears by Capt. Samuel Robinson's roll of those engaged in the action belonging to his company. His residence was near the place of the depot at the north village, where he died July 23, 1813, aged sixty-nine. He had three sons : David, who died Sept. 10, 1852, aged eighty-five ; Thomas, who died July 23, 1856, aged eighty-five; and Reuben, Jr. Mrs. Eliza, wife of William E. Hawks, is the only child of Daniel Colvin now remaining in town. Of the children of Thomas ; Sidney, John V., and Reuben, all with families, are now residents in North Bennington. Charles S. Colvin, of East Bennington, is the only son of Reuben Colvin, Jr. Dea. John W. Vail is a grandson of Reuben Colvin, Sen., whose daughter, Freelove, was Dea. Vail's mother.
VI. NATHANIEL FILLMORE united with this church in 1,773, - ministry of Rev. Mr. Dewey. He was a reputable citizen ; an ensign in Capt. Dewey's company in the battle af Bennington. His son Nathaniel, born April 19, 1771, father of President Fillmore, married here, and emigrated to Western New York about the year 1798, residing in Au- rora, Erie County. Another son of Nathaniel, Sen., Elijah Fillmore, Esq., was representative of the town in 1839 ; Lived and died, much respected by his neighbors and fellow- citizens, in the west part of the town, in 1853, leaving a quimerous family of children.
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MEMORIALS OF A CENTURY.
VII. SIMEON HATHAWAY, JR., and Anne Hathaway united with this church during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Dewey, May 3, 1776. The name of Simeon Hathaway, Sen., appears on a petition to the Governor of New Hamp- shire, dated October, 1769. Simeon Hathaway is also on the roll of Capt. Robinson's company in the Bennington battle as lieutenant. Levi Hathaway, Abram Hathaway, Alpheus Hathaway, are also on the roll. There are nine- teen individuals of the name on our church-roll.
VIII. THOMAS JEWETT's name is on the petition 1 of the Bennington settlers to the Governor of New Hampshire, dated October, 1769. He came here from Norwich, Conn. He was active in the Bennington battle, and took the sword and hat from Col. Baum. He was a lieutenant of Capt. Dewey's company. The sword was afterward purchased by David Robinson, and used by him as a captain of cav- alry, and subsequently as a field and general officer of the militia, and is still in the possession of his grandson, G. W. Robinson.2 Lieut. Jewett tore off the ornaments from the hat and wore it, as he had lost his own. It is now in the possession of descendants in Weybridge. Thomas Jewett first settled in a log house, south of East Benning- ton. He has numerous descendants.
IX. CHARLES CUSHMAN united with the church in 1784. A Charles Cushman was inn-keeper at an early day; in 1779, one of a committee, " as listers, to go round the town and take the lists of all who will pay their proportion of the above sum " (voted to supply the pulpit), " and to take the names of all those who refuse to give in the list." 3 John and Mrs. Cushman united with the church 1803. Charles and Anne united with the church 1817.
1,2 Vermont Hist. Mag.
3 Town Records.
287
ELEAZER HAWKS.
X. ELEAZER HAWKS united with this church January 29, 1786. He came here in 1774, from Deerfield, Mass., when a young man, drawn hither by the circumstance that John Kinsley had settled here, between whose daughter Rhoda and himself there was a tender attachment. He set- tled on land next to the Kinsley farm.
Some particulars of his connection with the Bennington battle assist to more vivid impressions of the event. He felt it his duty to remain near home as long as possible, on account of the illness of his wife ; and was pursuing his work in the field, when the noise of the firing, as the battle commenced, burst upon him over Whip-Stock Hill. He went for his musket, and proceeded with speed to join his neighbors and countrymen in the terrible encounter. He was not a member of either of the companies of militia. He was one of the volunteers, as were many others. One of his duties was to assist in conveying wounded from the battle-field into town, which he did on his father-in-law's ox-cart. Some died of their wounds on the way. The old inecting-house became packed full of prisoners, so full that fears were entertained lest it should break down. Some were let out in consequence, and some escaped.
When Mr. Hawks returned to his home (a log hut with- out chimneys and with but one room), it was empty. His wife, an invalid, had been conveyed, on a bed upon an ox- sled, by her father, for refuge, in case the result of the battle had been adverse to Pownal, to the town next south, whither many of the feeble and helpless had been conveyed for safety. Mrs. Hawks survived the fatigue and exposure of her flight but a short time.
The second wife of Eleazer Hawks, and mother of Capt. Ira Hawks, was Anna (united with the church 1803), daughter of Daniel Clark, of Shaftsbury, who was in the battle and wounded, and who died of his wounds soon after."
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MEMORIALS OF A CENTURY.
William E. Hawks, an officer in the Baptist church of North Bennington, is a grandson of Eleazer Hawks. A grand- daughter, daughter of Capt. Ira Hawks, married the Rev. Mr. Palmer, deceased, pastor of the Baptist church at Hoosic Corners.
CHAPTER XX.
PERSONAL NOTICES.
1775-1776.
EACON JOSEPH BINGHAM, with Jeremiah, the elder of his sons, united with this church May 3, 1776. They left Norwich, Conn., about the time of the first settlement of Bennington, though they did not come here until a short time before the com- mencement of the American Revolution. On their removal from Norwich, they first settled in Charlemont, Mass., and came to Bennington from that place. Whether this was a family of Separates does not certainly appear. It is, however, quite probable, as they left Norwich, or its vicinity, about the time that a Separate church (that of Newint), or portions of it, left the same vicinity to remove to Bennington. In the records of the Newint Separate church, at the installation of Joseph Safford as deacon there, one Deacon Samuel Bingham was present from an- other Separate church, as delegate, and took part in the proceedings.
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